Christine Frith

As we head towards the big day, it’s the final stretch of our Christmas Countdown and we hope that we’ve helped you prepare your home for the holidays with less stress this year. In this post, we’ve suggested some last-minute tips to make sure nothing gets forgotten and, if you missed any of our earlier posts in this series, we’ve provided a quick recap below.

And don’t forget, if organising Christmas was more stressful than you’d hoped, then Hour Hands can help you get on top of it for next year. Our Christmas Preparation service can take care of your decorations, presents, cards and wrapping, plus we can even wait in for your Christmas food delivery. Please get in touch and we can make a note to contact you in good time next year.

Have you got your marketing plan for the new year in place? Creating, and following, a clear marketing plan is one of the most important things you can do to set your business apart from the competition, so it pays to spend a bit of time getting it right.

Read on for our tips on how to get your products and services in front of the right people. And if you’re short of time to get this underway, or could do with some expert advice, then Hour Hands can help. We can take specific tasks off your hands, or even provide a bespoke marketing package to promote your business. Contact us to find out how we can help you.

There are a multitude of things you can do to promote your business. The key is to find the ones that work for you and your audience:

1. Mix it up

Start by trying a variety of different ideas, and run them for a while to see which ones work best for you. You might find that some promotions get a better response than others, but in our experience a mixed approach gives the best return.

2. Social media

Make it relevant and interesting, but above all, use it.

3. Advertising

There are many ways you can do this, so look around. Pay-per-click (PPC) is worth considering, as is sponsorship of events that your potential clients will attend.

4. Exhibit at events

This could be a conference, a school fair, a trade show, or any other event, but exhibiting at the right event for your business could be the perfect way to get your name out there. We won’t lie – it can be hard work and your feet will hurt at the end of it, but plan it well and it should be worth it.

5. Website and blogs

Make the effort to keep your website up to date with relevant blogs. Create keywords for every page – Google’s Keyword Planner is an excellent tool to help you find just the right word, and will improve your visibility in online searches.

6. Mailing list

Send regular and interesting newsletters to your contacts, with links back to your website. Create your own content to attract visitors to your site, and build up your mailing list by providing subscribe links on your website. You could also consider running a competition on social media to get people on your list. Don’t forget, if you need some advice on putting together a professional newsletter or setting up your mailing list, then we can help.

7. Networking

We appreciate this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but there are lots of friendly groups out there who would be very pleased to meet you. And it really is true that you buy from people you know, or people that have been recommended to you!

8. Printed material

Print is an expensive option, but can be very effective if you use it wisely. Put together an attractive flyer, and make sure it appears in all the places your clients might be.

You may remember that we’ve already talked about Christmas cards, and if you’ve yet to write them then now’s the time to start! We’ve pulled together the Royal Mail posting dates along with the last delivery dates for online shopping. If you’re short of time, then we can also take your address book and create a sheet of mailing labels for you, to make posting your cards that bit easier. Still too daunting? We can even write them for you! Contact us to find out how Hour Hands can make your family Christmas a bit easier this year.

Mailing label service

If you’ve a number of cards to send then writing all those addresses can be very time consuming. But we’ve found a way to make it easier for you. Send us your addresses in electronic format and we’ll turn them into a mail merge file that creates handy sheets of mailing labels, allowing you to just stick and post. This service starts at just £35, for less than 100 addresses, and we can post the labels back to you or arrange delivery. Or if your addresses are only in a handwritten format, then we can take your address book (or even just a photo of the relevant pages) and return it to you with the labels and an electronic file from just £60. Just make sure you allow enough time for you to hit the last posting dates! Contact us to book in as soon as you can.

Royal Mail posting dates

The last dates for posting parcels and letters are earlier than usual this year, because Christmas Day falls on a Monday. Don’t be caught short – here are the dates you need to know:

Second Class: Wednesday 20 December

First Class: Thursday 21 December

Special Delivery Guaranteed: Thursday 21 December

Special Delivery Guaranteed Saturday: Friday 22 December

Online shopping

Many of us will be buying gifts online this year, so it pays to know the last ordering dates for delivery in time for Christmas. These can start as early as 17 December (next weekend!) and run as late as 23 December, so plan your shopping accordingly. But bear in mind that delivery can be disrupted by all sorts of things, including the weather, so allow a bit of extra time if you can. Here are some of the key dates for our favourite online retailers:

If business growth is on your to-do list for next year, then you’ve probably realised there are lots of aspects to consider. Here’s our advice on planning, marketing and recruitment for business growth, to help you get the right people onboard and give you the best chance of succeeding. And don’t forget, if you’re short of time then the Hour Hands Business Support team can take care of your marketing and recruitment activities, leaving you free to concentrate on your business. Contact us to find out more.

Growth Plan

Developing a growth plan is a great starting point. This needn’t be a complicated or onerous document, but you’ll need to think things through and capture your current position. You should consider:

what is going well

any weaknesses or issues that need to be tackled

opportunities for growth.

With this in mind, it pays to set out where you want to be in three years, and perhaps also in five years. Does this fit with where your business is now? Start to map out what needs to be done, to start the journey towards your three-year vision.

Marketing Plan

A robust marketing plan is vital for growth and to support your goals – look out for more on this in our next blog. It will help target your resources efficiently and set your marketing budget. Also, having your marketing efforts mapped out for the year will help you stay on track and review what has and hasn’t worked. As well as promoting your business, take time to review your pricing.

Capacity

Knowing how much business you can handle is vital. If you haven’t already done so, calculate your business capacity. Looking at the number of staff or hours available for client work, if you’re a service business, or the number of units you can produce, for a production-based company, is a key stepping stone on a number of fronts. From this, you can assess your potential turnover, and also whether you’re operating at capacity.

If you’re at or near capacity and want to grow, then you have a number of options:

Find ways of working more efficiently using technology to help streamline processes.

Find more efficient ways to do things.

Increase your capacity through recruiting new team members.

Recruitment

If you’ve made the decision to recruit, then your first step is to set out the expectations of the new role in a job description. Start with a brief description of your company, what the role involves (including main tasks and purpose), add any required qualifications, and describe the pay and conditions. If you’re finding it difficult to get started then there are many templates available that will help you.

Small businesses have a number of different options for recruiting:

Social media

Specialist recruitment sites (although these vary in price)

Recruitment consultants (knowledgeable and provide excellent, tailored support, but can be more expensive than other options)

When recruiting, it pays to be honest about your work environment. Small businesses are likely to benefit from adaptable people, so if flexible working is part of the package then make sure you shout about it. By following a thorough recruitment process, you’ll have the best chance of getting the right people on board.

The advent calendars are up, the decorations are down from the loft, and now it’s time to think about the big day itself. We’ve put together our top tips to help you organise your food shop with minimal hassle. Check out our must-have Christmas Dinner Checklist, a round-up of the local shops, the best ready-made options, and we’ve even included the Hour Hands team’s favourite festive recipes.

If you’re short on time then don’t forget that Hour Hands can help organise all aspects of your family Christmas – even waiting in for your Christmas food delivery if you’re going to be out. Contact us to find out how we can make things easier for you.

Christmas Dinner Checklist

Christmas dinner is often viewed as one of the most stressful meals of the year to prepare, and with so many little extras (cranberry sauce!) and the pressure to get it perfect, it can feel daunting. We love this Christmas Dinner Checklist to help you get everything purchased, prepped, and presented on the table right on schedule.

Keep it local

Your local shops offer a huge range of excellent produce without having to fight through the supermarket queues. Here’s our favourites.

Spirits & Wine

Buy In

Retailers are switching on to the need for great-quality, ready-made options. There are plenty of excellent time-saving choices available, from Christmas dinner boxes to completely prepared frozen meals, direct to your door.

“This recipe is great as it can be made well in advance or just a few days before Christmas, so you can make it whenever you have a little spare time. It’s also nut-free, so great for those with allergies.”

Have you thanked your staff and suppliers recently? Christmas often follows a busy time of year where people have put extra effort in, so it’s a great time to thank your staff and suppliers with a little something special.

This sounds expensive but it doesn’t need to cost a lot. A personal message, a dinner, or a Secret Santa are all simple gifts that will be highly appreciated by the recipients. Read on for our edit of the best thank-yous around this Christmas. And don’t forget, if you’re too busy to arrange this yourself then Hour Hands can buy, wrap and deliver your corporate gifts, as well as writing your cards.

Office Christmas party, yes or no?

We all know December is super-busy for everyone, but it’s still nice to do a Christmas work party, and Christmas in January just isn’t the same! If you prefer a more low-key option, a lunch offers ample opportunity to spend time together. This is a nice time to share some stories of your past year, and to show appreciation of work delivered.

Delight your staff and key suppliers

Can you highlight some great moments in the year to each of your staff? Moments they have really gone way beyond what they were employed to do? Take the time to acknowledge this with a small gift – it will always be appreciated.

Similarly, if you have some key suppliers then don’t forget about them. Again, it doesn’t need to break the bank, just a little thank you will make them feel appreciated.

Expensive and generic corporate gifts are a bit dated now, but we still think saying thank you to your loyal clients is an important thing to do. Can you find something personal or really useful for them? If you know your clients well, that will make it a lot easier.

Give the gift of time

At this busy time of year, time is often craved more than anything material. An Hour Hands gift voucher enables your team members to use any of our services for a specified amount of time.

Flower subscriptions

Wellness gifts

The gift of time

An Hour Hands gift voucher gives the lucky recipient the opportunity to use any of our Home PA and Concierge services for a specified amount of time. Whether that's collecting dry cleaning, decluttering or booking a holiday, we can take care of it!

Mobile Massage Treatment

Duvet Day

Duvet Days enable your staff to take a day off, without advance notice, when they feel they need to take some time to themselves but aren't sick or taking organised annual leave. These days are built into the annual holiday allowance.

Something a little different

Personal Chef Experience - La Belle Assiette

Reward excellent service with a personal chef to cook dinner and clean up afterwards - a dream come true!